Improvement in horse hay-rakes



s. CET

UNITED STATES PATENT OEETCE;

CHARLES M. LUFKIN AND CHARLES Gr. ALLEN, OFl BARRE, MASSACHUSETTS.

IMPROVEMENT IN HORSE HAY-RAKES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 166,1 1S, dated July27, 187.5; application filed January 22, 1875.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that we, CHARLES M. LUEKIN andCHARLES G. ALLEN, ofthe town ofBarre, county of Worcester and State oi'Massachusetts, have invented new and useful Improvehaving apawl engagingwith the same, which is.

secured to the axle, such pawl being operated by means of a rod runningparallel with and secured to such axle, and operated by meansoftreadl'es, levers, and springs, and the action of the same controlledby the feet of the driver while upon his seat, or by the hand ofthedriver by prolonging the arms of such levers, 8vo., in the mannerhereinafter described and pointed out in the claims, the construction,operation, and combined action of such pawl, ratchet,

levers, and treadles being intended to accomplish the result ofdischarging, at the proper time, the hay or other analogous materialcon4 tained within and by the teeth of the rake. Also inthe-construction and arrangement of ,the hay stripper-bar, and itsconnection with the outer teeth at each end of the rake, and thestripper rods or arms also connected to such stripper-bar, and to across-bar, to the latter of which the shafts are attached, as well as tothe axle.

In order to enable others skilled in the art to make and use thisinvention, we will describe the construction and operation of the same.`

In the drawings, Figure l is a top or plan view of the machine. Figs. 2and 3 are side views in cross-section, showing the position of the rakein two positions, with the arrangement of levers, treadles., andstrippers. Fig. 4 shows the position of the pawl, engaged with ratchet,with the projections or lugs formed upon such pawl, and their relationto the vent-arms upon the longitudinal rod in cross-section. Fig. 5shows a top and plan view of same. Fig. 6 showsv the shield surroundingthe ratchet and the pawl, with 7c engage.

the projections on the pawl, which is attached to the larger shield.

In the drawings, A represents the axle, as well as the rakevhead, towhich the teeth a a a are secured, such teeth being bent in the form ofa halfecircle, or nearly so. B is a crossbar, to which are attached, atright angles, the hayvstrippers a a and a a". of the hay-rake h arepivoted to the axle or head A by means of the bent arms L", and by meansof such arms connect the lcross-bar B and axle A together, 4as seen inFig. 3. The teeth, secured to the axle, can be raised or lowered byturning the axle or pressing the same downward by means of the arm orfootpiece e at the left of the drivers seat, who can operate the sameand control the movement ot' said teeth, when desired, by raising suchteeth when passing over stubble or uneven surfaces, or other obstacles.This device just described is arranged to co-operate with the lever g,rod g', and arm g", the latter se-y cured to the axle A. By pressingdown with the foot-lever g, the teeth are held in contact with the hayupon the ground, and the motion of the teeth over uneven ground orobstacles controlled in a similar manner as when they are operated bythe arm or footpiece e. The stripper-bar C is secured inposition on theunder side of the teeth, by being connected to the end teeth by means ofa staple or clevis, t', said end teeth passing through eyes (formedwithin such staple or clevis) upon the upper side of such stripper-barC. The two outer stripper-rods a", in addition to being secured to thecross-bar B are also secured to the stripper-bar by means of the.connectingrods a, so that whenthe teeth are raised, or are being raised,the rods a. a and a" a force the hay from the teeth, and are in theposition seen in Fig. 3, partly in dotted lines. Another mechanism isalso used to perform this operation of releasing the hay from the teethby means of the motion of the wheels. To the inner portion of the hubsof such wheels are secured ratchets m, with which the pawls The latterare pivoted to the larger shield n, and are raised out of or forced intocontact with the ratchets by means f the bent arms upon'the' end of therod b.` While the rake is in motion the pawls lc rest upon The shaftsthe said bent arms and disconnected from the ratchets m, the lugs 1formed upon such pawls then being upon the ends of the bent arms oi' therod b. A cani shaped projection, 2, is also formed. upon said pawl. sothat When the arm or support is removed from the lug 1 the arm pressesupon and vdownward the cam 2, forcing the pawl in contact with theratchet m. The connection of the shield n, to which the pawls areLattached, to the axle causes such axle to rotate, thereby raising theteeth ofthe rake, when the paWls and rachets are in contact with eachother. To control the operation of the rod b I employ the foottreadle orlever f, rod f, and arm f the latter securely fastened to the rod b, andWithin the control ofthe driver upon his seat p. A spring, d, connectswith the rod b and arm f which, upon removal of the foot of the vdriverfrom the lever f, causes the arms on the end ofthe rod b to resume theirsupport of the lpawl, as before mentioned. To aid in the return oftherake to its proper position after the hay is released, I attach aspring, c, to a rod that secures the right-hand shaft to the axle A, sothat When the axle is turned downward the spring is Wound up by means ofits c011- nection with the axle and rod, and upon the 'withdrawal of thefoot from the lever g the spring o causes the axle to return toitsnormal position. The levers f and g are secured to the foot-board h, andthe seat p, and brace la also secured to the foot-board la', as seen inFigs. 1 and 2. The stripper-bar C slides freely upon the end teeth ofthe rake, and acting also as a support to the teeth aa a., as well asaiding inthe discharge of the hay from the rake.

What We claim as our invention, and desire to secure by LettersPatent,is

- 1. The combination of the leverf, rod fwith the rod b,' and pawl 7cwith its lugs 1 and 2, and ratchet m, when constructed and arranged tooperate in the manner and for the purpose herein described. 4

2. The stripper-bar C, in combination with the end teeth a a,stripper-rods a, and connecting-rods a", in the manner and for thepurpose herein described.

3. The combination of the stripper-rods a" with the connecting-rod a!"and stripper-bar C., and cross-bar B, in the manner and for the purposeherein set forth.

In testimony whereof we have signed our names in the presence of twosubscribing witnesses.

CHAS. M. LUFKIN, GHAS. Gr. ALLEN.

Witnesses:

A. M. BURT, HENRY M. SHATTUGK.

